This invention relates generally to packing devices and more particularly, it relates to a BGA carrier of a unique construction for storing and shipping of ball grid array (BGA) packages in a side-by-side arrangement and adapted for dispensing of the same in a one-by-one fashion under gravity.
In recent years, the miniaturization of integrated circuit chips has progressed significantly, and smallsized, rectangular plate-shaped parts of the type having no leads, such as pin grid array packages, have been coming into extensive use. Rome of these types of pin grid array package structures are formed with solder balls on their bottom surface rather than with external terminal pins and are referred to as "ball grid arrays" (BGA) packages. RGA packages of this type have extra-ordinarily small outer dimensions. For example, a BGA package having 165 solder balls on its bottom surface may have dimensions of about 23.0 mm (in length).times.23.0 mm (in width).times.2.13 mm (in thickness). It is therefore quite difficult to store and/or transport a large number of these BGA packages in a predetermined arrangement. Moreover, it is extremely time-consuming to manually mount such BGApackages one-by-one onto a printed circuit board as is done in the case of conventional larger circuit components.
As a result, there has arisen a need for chip carriers or containers for housing and/or shipping these BGA packages so as to facilitate their storage and transportation from an integrated circuit chip manufacturer's site to an assembly station at a customer's site where automatic equipment functions to remove the BGA packages from the chip carrier and to mount the BGA packages onto a printed circuit board (PCB) or the like. Further, the chip carrier may also function so as to bring different types of electrical components to the assembly station in proper order for sequential assembly operations.
In order to function properly, the chip carriers must be capable of transporting the components placed therein and then, at the proper location (i.e., customer's site) be capable of being quickly and positively opened so that the components can be easily removed for assembly purposes. In addition, the chip carrier must also be able to provide a degree of protection for the sensitive components to be transported therein with respect to contamination, electrostatic discharge (ESD), temperature changes and mechanical shock.
To date, the prior art solutions to these problems has involved the use of chip carrier trays having a plurality of separate compartments or pockets for holding the individual BGA packages apart from each other. For instance, there is shown in FIG. 1 a chip carrier tray 2 of a generally rectangular configuration. The tray 2 includes a plurality of separate compartments 4 each adapted to hold a single BGA package 6. However, these prior art trays have the disadvantage of requiring a cover that is secured to the tray and to thereby prevent the components from prematurely falling out of the compartments. Further, the cover must be opened and reclosed for quality testing or the like and causes difficulties in alignment of the cover and the tray. In addition, the use of a tray type of chip carrier requires the need of an expensive "pick and place" mechanism to perform the functions of picking up the individual BGA packages from the separate compartments of the carrier tray and placing it in position for surface mounting on a printed circuit board or some other operation.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a BGA carrier of a tubular construction for storing and shipping of BGA packages in a side-by-side arrangement and adapted for dispensing of the same in a one-by-one fashion under gravity.